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British Pubs The word pub is short for public house. There are over 60,000 pubs in the UK (53,000 in England and Wales, 5,200 in Scotland and 1,600 in Northern Ireland). One of the oldest pubs, Fighting Cocks in St. Albans, Herts, is located in a building that dates back to the eleventh century. Pubs are popular social meeting places that are important parts of British life. People talk, eat, drink, meet their friends and relax there. Pubs often have two bars, one usually quieter than the other, many have a garden where people can sit in the summer. Children can go in pub gardens with their parents. Most pubs belong to a brewery (a company which makes beer) but sell many different kinds of beer, some on tap (from a big container under the bar) and some in bottles. The most popular kind of British beer is bitter, which is dark and served at room temperature. In the West of England, cider made from apples, is very popular. Like wine, it is described as sweet or dry, but is drunk in beer glasses and can be stronger than beer. Beers are served in "pints" for a large glass and "halves" for a smaller one. Most pubs offer a complete range of beers, local and imported, with German, Belgian and French beers being in demand. Pubs sell soft drinks as well as alcohol. Although most people think pubs are places where people drink alcohol, pubs in fact sell soft drinks (non alcoholic) too. British people drink an average of 99.4 litres of beer every year. More than 80% of this beer is drunk in pubs and clubs. British pubs are required to have a license, which is difficult to obtain, and allows the pub to operate between 11 a.m. and 11p.m. every day except Sunday, when they must close at 10:30 p.m. Nearly all pubs sell pub lunches. One of these is the Ploughman’’s Lunch which is a great wedge of Cheddar cheese, some bread, some pickle, and an onion. Other typical pub foods are scampi (kind of shellfish) and chips (fried potatoes), pie and chips, and chicken and chips. Pubs have traditional names which date back over 600 years. Some typical names are The Chequers, The White Swan, The Crown, The King’’s Arms, The Red Lion and The White Horse. People often refer to the pub by its name when giving directions: Turn left at the Rose and Crown. There is usually a sign outside the pub showing the pub’’s name with a picture. Various games, especially darts, are common features of pubs; many of the old country pubs continue to promote traditional games, such as "Bat and Trap"(played in Kent) which have been played for hundreds of years. The minimum drinking age in Britain is eighteen, but fourteen-year-olds may enter a pub unaccompanied by an adult if they order a meal. Children may enter a pub with their parents until 9 p.m., which lets families enjoy reasonably priced pub meals together, and allows pubs to continue in their traditional roles as community centers. Customs in British pubs differ from those in American bars. In Britain, you must go to the bar to order drinks and food and pay for your purchase immediately, there is no table service. Bartenders are called "landlords" and "barmaids" and they do not expect frequent tipping. To tip a landlord or barmaid, it is customary to tell him to "buy himself one". Visitors to Britain may find the best place to sample local culture in a traditional pub. But these friendly hostelries can be minefields of potential gaffes for the uninitiated. An anthropologist and a team of researchers have unveiled some of the arcane rituals of British pubs — starting with the difficulty of getting a drink. Most pubs have no waiters — you have to go to the bar to buy drinks. A group of Italian youths wait 45 minutes before they realized they would have to fetch their own. This may sound inconvenient, but there is a hidden purpose. Pub culture is designed to promote sociability in a society known for its reserve. Standing at the bar for service allows you to chat with others waiting to be served. The bar counter is possibly the only site in the British Isles in which friendly conversation with strangers is considered entirely appropriate and really quite normal behaviour. "If you haven’’t been to a pub, you haven’’t been to Britain." This tip can be found in a booklet, Passport to the Pub: The Tourists’’ Guide to Pub Etiquette, a customers’’ code of conduct for those wanting to sample "a central part of British life and culture". The trouble is that if you do not follow the local rules, the experience may fall flat. For example, if you are in a big group, it is best if only one or two people go to buy the drinks. Nothing irritates the regular customers and a bar staff more than a gang of strangers blocking all access to the bar while they chat and dither about what to order. So now you have a drink, but what about meeting the locals Pub-goers will indicate in unspoken ways if they are interested in chatting. Concentrate on those who have bought drinks and are still loitering at the bar. Those who have moved to sit at tables are probably not seeking company. Look for people with "open" body language, facing outwards into the room. Don’’t ever introduce yourself with an outstretched hand and a big smile. Natives will cringe and squirm with embarrassment at such brashness. The British, quite frankly, do not want to know your name and shake your hand — or at least not until a proper degree of mutual interest has been well established (like maybe when you marry their daughter). Talk generally about the weather, the beer or the pub and at an appropriate moment, offer to your newfound companion a drink. This exchange is a key to feeling part of the pub crowd and thereby getting to know more about Britain than its tourist spots. The ritual of sharing-buying rounds of drinks in turn — is of great significance. This is because the British male is frightened of intimacy, finds it difficult to express friendly interest in other males and can be somewhat aggressive in his manner. If you are having British friends or business contracts, one of your hosts will probably buy the first round, but you should be quick to offer the next. The right time to offer to buy a drink is when their glasses are still a quarter full. The line of "It’’s my round — What are you having" may not be in your phrase book, but it is one of the most useful sentences in the English language. If you want to meet the locals in a pub, you should never choose to irritate a lady.